Economic Data

Five central banks from high income countries meet this week: Australia, Canada, Norway, Britain, and the euro area. None are expected to announce a change in policy – but if there is a surprise, it would most likely come from the The US…

Below is a selection of economic and political events affecting currency markets.

A number of indicators seem to point to a relatively weak holiday shopping season in the US. In particular, the Gallup survey index that estimates holiday spending has turned lower. And consumer sentiment peaked this summer and has been…

The global economic recovery continues as all of the most important economies in the world are on track for growth. Europe is the laggard and the tepid recovery there could still stall out. Below are some brief ideas on where this is headed…

The most recent economic data have been a bit soft. Below I take a brief look at what the data flow seems to be saying

In September I wrote that I expected the Fed to establish a lower bound for inflation threshold as one of its next moves. The rationale was two-fold. First, inflation is undershooting and the Fed needs policy space to deal with unwanted…

Over the past couple of years it has gradually become the consensus view that QE has failed because it hasn’t created the economic growth that everyone was hoping for. I find that view overly simplistic and naïve in equal measures. QE - or…

The release of the first estimate of Q3 GDP was initially met with excitement as the headline print of 2.82% growth was far in excess of consensus estimates of 2.0%. Unfortunately, the euphoria quickly faded as the details painted a much…

Recently, I wrote a series of posts predicting that the Fed would give up on QE and move toward forward guidance in order to be able to normalize policy. Nevertheless, I have also been saying for quite some time I believe the US zero rate…

Europe is in the sweet spot right now, with recovery looking like it has taken hold. Greece remains an outlier. The question is what will happen to Greece over the medium- to- long-term. I believe the answer is an exit from the euro zone.…